


There are shadows that follow you home

by Angelicasdean



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Hurt No Comfort, Short One Shot, Spoilers, The ride back home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24903304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicasdean/pseuds/Angelicasdean
Summary: Tommy didn't know what to expect.
Relationships: Joel & Tommy (The Last of Us)
Kudos: 42





	There are shadows that follow you home

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I've always wanted to write something for this game and, well, Naughty dog hurt me enough with tlou2 that I did.

When he opened his eyes, he really didn’t know what to expect, with the pounding in his head, and the soreness in his jaw. For a moment or two the world was a blur, with familiar voices nearby, Dina, gently shaking him awake. Tommy blinks up at her, seeing the apology in her eyes as she moves away, looking over her shoulder, and he remembers what happened now. 

It hits him straight in the chest, looking at the body on the floor with a pool of blood around it, looking towards the door where he sees Ellie staring at the same body, when had they come?

He doesn’t much care, eyes settling on his older brother again… he doesn’t know what’s happening. Tommy half expects the man to just jump awake, curse the bastards the knocked both of them down, but his eyes fall on his leg; where Tommy last saw him get shot. Sees the blood pouring from the nearly torn off limb.

Crawling closer is really the only thing he can do, the lump in his throat is heavy, gets even heavier when he sees his brothers face. “Those sons of bitches,” Tommy whispers to himself, “what the fuck did they do to you”

By the lapels of his shirt, Tommy lifts Joel up, something twisting terribly in his chest when Joel sags against the movement. That’s really when everything crashes down on him, staring at his older brothers face, half unrecognizable, bloodied, looking bludgeoned to death by… by _something_.

Poor son of a bitch didn’t even get an easy way out, this ain’t just normal killing, they left Tommy alive. They did this on purpose. The looks they gave them, when Tommy handed out their names, _idiot_ , living in the town for so long softened him up. Made him trusting, and look where that got them.

His eyes don’t tear up, but his heart damn well near stops in his chest, realization after realization hitting him.

“Joel?” Ellie croaks from where she’s still on the floor, and now with a second look he looks beaten up too, teary eyed and heartbroken, “Tommy?” she looks at him with pleading eyes, and Tommy looks away, sinks into himself and brings Joel’s body to his chest.

This isn’t over, just yet.

Jesse and Dina force them to move, but they’re gentle with it, Dina coaxing Ellie to her feet. Jesse helps him move Joel. Tommy can see the disgust and horror in Jesse’s eyes, holding onto Joel’s feet, careful so the goddamn leg wouldn’t _tear off_.

 _Animals_ , Tommy thinks to himself, now back in the snow and whistling for their horses. At least they didn’t steal _them_. He scrounges up anything he can remember about them, he saw some badges, he thinks, _Washington liberation_ was it? There’s something missing from that.

_Washington liberation…_

_Front._

That sounds about right, he thinks he heard of them before, on the passing.

They place Joel back into his saddle, tying him to it so he wouldn’t fall off. Tommy grabs the horses reigns, giving a look to his brother before taking in a deep breath. He needs to get them back, needs to get him back, then… then…

Then what?

 _Washington liberation front_ , he repeats to himself. He’s not going to forget those bastards names. Never, he’ll hold that name into his memory until he bites dust. _What did you do_? Tommy can’t help but ask, and right about now he wanted Joel to brush him off, change the subject, **_be alive_**. _Why would they do this to you_?

They kick off, snow storm now calmed and infected no where to be seen. Tommy doesn’t let himself think too much, scheming a way to rip out the throats of ever single one who was in that room. _That fucking girl, Abby_. He can feel a frown take over his face, she shot him, in cold blood.

To think not even thirty minutes before it, Joel saved her. _To think, they nearly invited them to Jackson._

They make it home in good time, and Tommy feels a tiredness he hadn’t felt before when he saw how normal everything was going, until, of course, people took not of the body being led.

Death isn’t a foreigner to them, but it still shocks every single last one of them. Dina and Jesse disband, probably heading to send someone else on patrol. Tommy doesn’t even know if they should, if those fuckers— _Washington Liberation Front_ —are still out there.

Ellie sits on her horse, wiping the tears from her eyes and looking back at Tommy. He can see the hatred there, and something else, he hopes she hadn’t seen Joel die.

He has a feeling she did.

The towns people gather around, Tommy sliding Joel off the saddle and holding him up with difficulty. He can’t bring himself to ask Ellie for help, but she doesn’t need an invitation, grabbing one of Joel’s arms and wrapping it around her shoulders, Tommy taking the other one.

He doesn’t look anyone in the eye, but he can feel the heaviness in the air.

 _Washington Liberation Front_. He’ll hunt them down, _every_ single bastard, and _burn them down_ if he has to.


End file.
